Does He?
by PikasPuma
Summary: After years of hatred from Silver, Shadow finally takes his son home. But there's a few things left to be asked... Like if there's anything bothering him. Or...maybe...does he..?
1. Settling

Shadow smiled at awakening with the fact that Silver was finally home. No more hiding from him, no more guilt. At least some part of Selene was here now, and that would make everyone happy. The atmosphere in this house was reclusive since the night she died; perhaps her son could fill her place. Mephiles was upbeat during the talk.

"It's wonderful to have a silvery hedgehog back in the house," he said. "Mephisto will be pleased, I hope." With an irritated sigh, "He's been avoiding Silver for some time, insisting he would scare his guardian family or the like. And as much as I hate to admit, he'd probably be right."

Shadow nodded a little. "He is your demon-spawn, after all. He's just living up to the name, right?"

"That's what I'm afraid of. The Dark name is the title of a manipulating demon, and he's a full-blown pyromaniac." He hummed, figuring something out. "Or…maybe it's just Iblis avoiding his most powerful enemy. I suppose instinct can't be helped, and fighting myself is too difficult." As the black hedgehog sipped his warm cocoa, Mephiles changed the subject to how it would be the first Christmas with Silver. "I've always wanted to buy him a present. What do you think he's into, now?"

"He's too much like his mom; he doesn't really ask for much." From behind the kitchen wall Mephisto appeared, his slits hair-thin.

"What are you two so excited about?" he let out in a growling manner. "And why can't you be excited about it later, like when the sun's up?" Mephiles looked him in the eyes and said something like when he was over 100 years older he would understand, and his demon-spawn tossed that aside. This was nothing surprising for the father; he had mentioned Iblis' stubborn habits before. "Heredity was having a bad day when Mephisto was spawned."

"That didn't answer my question," the fiery one replied. "What were you talking about? Or was it about my presents?"

Both concluded with a glance it was typical for him to assume the world revolved around him. "Even if we were," Shadow said, "why would we tell you? You want to ruin your own surprises?"

"We were talking about your cousin."

Mephisto huffed at this, shaking his head. "Torturing yourself, Uncle Shadow? That's not good; just go watch him while your at it."

If the speaker wasn't Mephisto, he would find himself on the floor, with some dislodged teeth. A disapproving glare was enough for the fire demon though. "I guess you _don't _want to know, then." Realizing his mistake the young one took it back, though with hesitation.

"But, why are you talking about him?"

"Because he's _home_," Mephiles sighed, as if Silver were his, or at least he wished.

His real demon-spawn's pupils dilated. _"What?" _

"You know what I said. He's home now, and we're going to celebrate, aren't we, Shadow?"

"Err..." he avoided the glances, "I guess we are now."

"Let's go to a steakhouse!" Mephisto jumped up with excitement. Then he heard whimpers coming from his dad. "Oh, uh, sorry. Maybe not."

"I'm not sure if Silver _wants _to keep eating out," Shadow said. "His guardian family took him out to lunch, and he ate out with his girlfriend later. He'll think he's being spoiled."

"It can be a fast-food place," muttered the demon-spawn. "And then we could go to an arcade." Shadow sighed at the happy memories with Selene at a certain one. What a beauty she was then... He wondered what she might look like now if she was still alive.

"That sounds nice," he let out with a sigh.

Mephisto's pupils dilated a little more and he walked over to his uncle. "I miss Aunt Selene, too, Uncle."-he nudged the side of his head-"We all do."

Dawn's gentle light crept into the house. _Maybe Silver will be up soon..? _Mephiles drooped his head and stood up. "I think I'll go back to sleep. I'll see nephew later today."

_"Morgen, _Dad," his son said as he walked away. "I feel nice today; I'll cook some bacon for Silver."

"Don't burn it to a crisp this time," he warned, "and do half-chewy half-crispy; I don't know how he likes it."

"Okay."

"I think he's more her than me, though, just to warn you."

Nodding, the pyro began to spread a good deal of bacon on the flat top grill. Turning the grill on its lowest setting, the demon then blew fire above the strips, pausing to move to one side to define between crisp and chewy. "I think that's okay," Mephisto mumbled, sniffing the sizzling strips. "They're done."

"Good job," Shadow praised with a smile. "They smell good. That was a nice thing to do for Silver."

The demon's eyes widened a bit and he made a metallic noise, like a curious whimper. He turned the grill off and managed a "Uh, thanks... So he really is home?"

"Yes."

"This is his home?" he wondered. The black hedgehog caught his breath. The demon looked at him with innocence. "I-I knew you meant _here, _but I never thought this was his home. I thought... He liked his guardian family, or his home was with Aunt's family... Not here."

_Not here? Why not here? He belongs here. Doesn't he? _A confused mask was on his face as his nephew went on.

"Well, I guess I was used to him being gone for a long time...I...I-I guess I thought he belonged where he was. And that, well, he would always belong where he was."

_What? S_ilence grew between the two until a small creak from behind Shadow caught his attention. The door that was closed had a gap between the frame, and out shuffled Silver. He yawned and stretched his arms over his head.

He was the masculine Selene. The boy's silver fur shimmered in the sun light, and his white mane radiated in it like morning snow. His two down-curving quills complimented his spiky hair. Black skin framed his marvelous golden-amber eyes. When he lived with his guardian family, he fit very nicely, seeing that he bore a brotherly resemblance to Venice, the son of Florence and Vienna. Grayish fur, a mane, two head quills, it was the perfect home for him.

_"I thought he would always belong where he was." _Mephisto's voice rang like a deathening church bell. Perhaps...

Silver let out a sigh before saying, "It's great to finally be here. Good morning Meph. Morning, Dad." Shadow urged himself to get used to his voice. Silver's young chords would never get past the stage due to inherited agelessness. At least his divine image would be preserved.

"Morning," the fire demon greeted, then he muttered, "Angel-child."

The younger 'hog shook that off and sat down by his dad. The latter let out a curious huh, which made his son confused. "What?"

"That's her chair."

The silvery boy smiled. "I figured you'd say something like that. Everytime I go visit Aunt Aurora or Uncle Helios they say I sit in her chair. That that's her favorite soft serve. It just always seems like I _am _her." He rested his head in his hand with the other close to the elbow. His father would've said that seemed Selene too, but it wouldn't help.

"There, there," he soothed. "Your memories make you act a certain way, that's all. The time-paradox might have made your mother amplify her memories to cover mine up. If we spend time together maybe mine will resurface." The boy thought about it, then nodded with a hum.

"So what's for breakfast?"

* * *

><p>Silver had been raised to put away things as neat as possible. "Vienna doesn't like messy," he explained, "and Venice went out for swim team so Florence was around him a lot. So I was raised by her most of the time."<p>

"I see," Shadow agreed as he put away homemade fuzz socks. "Did you make these?"

"Don't laugh. Yep. Mom's memories made me do girly things all the time." The black hedgehog couldn't help stopping a grin from spreading on his muzzle. "Like crocheting and going to crochet socials."

He huffed. "Your mom was not the social type."

"I know. That's one thing I did for myself. And it's not so bad. I also let Aunt Aurora make me a- I don't know the-oh! A mannequin. For...ugh, girl's dresses."

Mephisto was passing by and burst out laughing. Not like his father, more like any other teenage guy. "What-what's the name of her company... So I can buy one for someone and say 'My cousin Silver modelled this; you'd really like him!' _Bwaah!"_

"She's out of her mind. I don't know _how _I have the physic of a girl."

"She probably just needed a body to put it on to see the basic layer," the black hedgehog encoraged. "Right?"

"Sure," the demon replied, with a hah-hah.

Silver then tilted his head and replied with, "Yeah, I think her... Whatever, was at the cleaners or something."

"Well, that's the rest of your clothes, Silver," Shadow announced. "What else have you got?"

"It's all good; everything's in its new place," he replied with a smile. "I'm settled!"

"No surprise there; you're a 'hog," Mephisto let out with a huff.

"But it was still done in record time,"-Mephiles slunk by the door frame, commenting. "I timed it compared to the last hedgehogs who moved in here. I was ruled out- I just made replicas as you know, and your father had a whole moving van of items. That took half an hour. And then there was..."

The silence flooded the room with ice water, the only one unaware was the newest edition. "Was-was it... Mom?"

The third-(second, now that she was gone) newest nodded. "What was the time, Dad?"

"Oh, Silver beat it. Hogs are top scorers when it comes to settling. Less objects to put away. But sows are better at other things." Mephisto was making a whimpering noise as he gazed at his father. He growled, then went, "Go ahead."

"What's for lunch, Uncle?" he asked, apathetic to Mephiles seething as he stalked away. "What do wanna do now that you're settled?"

"I want ice cream," he said to himself, licking his lips as he thought about it. "I want a shake."

"Could we go to get ice cream after lunch?" Mephisto's forest green eyes glittered. "Burgers?" Shadow nodded, making the audience fist pump and go "Yes!" After lunch the trio went to an ice cream shop. Silver was the first to order an extra-chocolate shake. Mephisto got a tropical sundae, while Shadow ordered a chocolate-fudge-truffle shake in honor of Selene.

Vanilla ice cream stained the demon's muzzle. The silvery hedgehog sipped away, and his father scooped up ice cream-truffle bits. Silver asked his cousin about the dessert's taste.

"Pretty good," he replied, before trying to drink the melted remains.

The other then turned to the one across. "How's your shake?"

"Your mom had excellent taste," he replied, smiling. "How's yours?"

"It's so good it's almost gone," the light-furred hedgehog answered, with a few laughs coming from both him and his cousin.

"We can get you another one," Mephisto offered, _"I'll _go get you another one." Silver let the demon out of the booth then at back in when the tip of his long tail had passed him. Now he was face to face with his father. Noises signified that he was sucking an empty cup.

"Wow, that didn't last long, now, did it?" Shadow joked, laughing to himself before eating another spoonful. "You certainly got _that _from your mother."

"I figured," his son puffed, stirring around air inside the cup with his finger. "You know that's the only thing we've ever talk about." His eyes became a dull yellow as he looked at the crumbs left from the last customers' meal. "Mom...and before that..."

A rock made it into the black hedgehog's heart. His ears echoed the past times before Silver had known the identity of his father. "I hate you!" was the most frequent saying the hog spat at him. "Yeah..." he mumbled. "That's all I think I can relate to you with; your mother."

His eyes were dark amber, like a rejected sample of it. "I know. I wish there was something else."

"Things take time," Shadow cooed, rubbing the hog's shoulder. "Just stick around; we'll find something."

* * *

><p>"For dinner we'll order pizza," Mephisto declared. "Pepperoni Lover's in honor of Aunt!"<p>

"Get off of the counter," Shadow commanded, glaring. "Or you'll have to clean that as well."

_"As well?"_ The demon puffed. "You mean I have to-"

"You're ordering the pizza; you're cleaning up after it."

Silver chuckled at this rule, making his cousin growl. "You should be lucky yesterday was your birthday," he warned, "because tomorrow I won't have to be nice to you." A puff was induced by the new hog, but then he hummed and went into his room. Shadow noted him wandering back in with a phone, tapping and sliding his fingers across the screen. His eyes were canary colored.

"Something wrong, Silver?" he wondered.

The hog shook his head. "No, I was just wondering about something... Aunt Aurora said she and Twilight would be taking a cruise together and might not be here on her birthday or Christmas." He tapped on his phone some more. "She wanted to get her presents and celebrate early, so I was invited, too," the hog mewed. He gazed at his father. "Would you like to come to the party?"

Instinct would've made Shadow blurt "Not a chance" at him, but his ears picked up a "I'll try if there's a chance; you can hold that against me" from a fall morning.

His stomach felt weights in it before the pizza was even ordered. "I'll go," he let out with a sigh. Seeing Silver's face light up made him see a female double from the past when he promised that.


	2. Let The Roast Begin!

Shadow wasn't surprised Silver jumped into the back seat. "Huh," he had puffed. _I can't blame you. Your life changed in an instant in the passenger seat. _

"Sorry," he mewed, his innocent sunshine eyes peeking from behind the seat. "Instinct. Bad memories."

"Probably both," the black hog shut the door and went around to the driver's side. _Should I tell him that this is the car, too? _Head shakes were the answer after imagining his shrinking canary irises, like the birds flying away then having a heart attack.

"A lot of people think she was driving," Silver mumbled once his father sat down, "but she flew out of the car in the passenger seat, right?" A nod and a hum. "What...what happened to you?"

The black hog rubbed his forehead, which had something less than a dent in it. "I should've died, too. But, you know, I came out with a fractured leg."

"But you were in Mom's last memories."

"I know; when we're supposed to die, we do, and then we just come back," he explained. "Like zombies or vampires, or whatever."

"Scared?" he asked, a grin flashing in the rear view mirror. _You mean of angry siblings and parents coming after me because I eloped your mother and abandoned you? _

"No comment," Shadow puffed, turning the car on. "Give me directions to the place."

* * *

><p>"Daddy, Daddy!" Dawn squeaked as she ran around in a circle. "Are we going to Aunt Aurora's house?"<p>

Helios chuckled as he scooped up his daughter. "Yes, you silly," he teased. "We're going. Where else would we go?"

"Silver's house!" she squealed. "So we could see Silver, and Silver's family!"

The golden-orange hedghog stiffened. _Well... I guess she's right. Silver's family. But that's not his biological family. Selene's gone, and no one knows what happened to Silver's dad._

"Daddy? What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. Just thinking about my baby sissy again." He leaned over his daughter. "You _do _know who my baby sissy is, don't you?" he whispered, like a spy.

"Um, Aunt Aurora?" she whimpered.

"Wrong!" he boomed, poking the toddler, who squeaked. "Aunt Aurora is baby _sis! _Not baby _sissy! _Baby sissy is your Aunty Selene!"

"Why is she baby sissy?" she mewed. "Aren't sis and sissy the same thing?"

"No. They're. _Not," _he hissed a tease. "My sissy is my littlest baby sister. When she was your age she followed me around and called me big brother."

"Where was Aunty Aurora?"

"Falling on her butt and crying about it, like you," he answered, smiling at the bottom lip poking out of his daughter's face. "My baby sissy was super-special. It was my job to take care of her as a good big brother."

"Really?"

"Yep," Helios nodded, becoming less dramatic. "When she was a tiny baby sissy I followed behind her so I caught her if she fell backwards. We were always so close, the bestest friends. Then Daddy moved out of the house and...Baby sissy ran away."

"Where?" Dawn cooed, big purple-indigo eyes gazing up at her daddy. _I can't tell her..._

"Well..." he breathed, taking a deep breath. "She ran away because she was in love with Silver's daddy. They got married and Silver was born."

"Why don't we see Aunty Selene and Silver's daddy?"

"We do, Dawn," he answered, thinking about when he stopped to have a picnic in the cementary and wandered off to give his sister flowers. "No one knows where Silver's daddy is." One more sad sigh.

"C'mon," the golden-orange hog started. "Let's go see Aunt Aurora."

* * *

><p>"Which street is it?"<p>

"Um...I..."

"Don't tell me you don't _know."_

"Calm down, let me think!"

* * *

><p>"There," Aurora huffed, straightening up. "All done." Tropical themed cupcakes twinkled with glitter on the display, shifted and rotated a few times beforehand.<p>

"Now what about you?" she mumbled, staring at the brownies. They were dark and undecorated next to the white frosted cupcakes with summer rings. _There's not much to be done with brownies... Why did I make them in the first place?_

_ "I love brownies!" _a young voice echoed in her head. The sky-blue eyes darkened when she realized who it was.

_"Well, I like cookies," Aurora protested, leaning closer, shrinking the irises in her sister's dark eyes. "So you'll just have to deal."_

_ Selene let out a tiny whimper and ducked her head. "I'm...I'm sorry..." she mewled, shrinking away from her. "Go-go ahead and make some cookies..."_

_ "Gosh, you're such a pushover," the orangle-yellow hejji huffed. "Aren't you gonna help me make them?"_

_ "No-no... I'll screw everything up. I just know it. I always screw everything up." Her face, covered some by her bangs dove into her palms. _

_ She meant school. Selene was outcasted because her chest hadn't hit puberty yet. Laughed at when she was compared to her sister at school. She didn't have big brother to cling to then, and stuck around her older siblings at home._

_ And now her older sister was acting just like those other girls at school._

_ "Selene..." Aurora whined. "Don't cry." But the gray girl was already up the stairs._

_ An hour or so later the orange-yellow thirteen-year-old wandered into her sister's room with a plate. "Selene," she mewed. Her sister peeked out from under her arms from her spot on her blue bed. _

_ She nudged the plate of warm brookies towards the gray hejji. "Want one?"_

A tear landed on the counter, and she shook her head. _She wouldn't want me to cry about it, _she insisted. _She didn't want anyone to get upset over her. _

After a deep breath, Aurora wandered into the kitchen and pulled out some ingredients, emerging with some fluffy frosting in a hand tube. The tip on it made the frosting look like it belonged on a cake slice, and it tasted like cheesecake frosting.

_Perfect._

* * *

><p>"Here-here! Stop-stop-stop!" Silver screeched. "Here we are!" Ten minutes of circling the neighborhood like people worthy of the Neighborhood Watch. At least the house wasn't a gigantic chateau like Selene's parents' <em>house. <em>

"Looks like Uncle Helios is here," the hog chirped, pulling out the box for his aunt as he exited. "Better run while you still can."

"Silver!" a lady's squeal sounded, informing Shadow there was no place to hide now. A few feet away from the car, someone wearing a white sundress-wasn't she cold?- and red-orange wavy hair was squeezing the silver boy.

Aunt Aurora, Selene's sister. She'd change from the last time he'd seen her. Taller, less slender, and then her face. She had sky-blue eyes, a pointy-er nose and it was touched with makeup.

_"I'm the ugly sister," Selene'd said. I wonder if that'd still be true if..._

"So who's that over there?" the same voice that'd called out asked. "One of your friends?"

"Nope. That's my dad."

The crickets were dead so the wind slipped past everyone's ears. Aurora's face hardened like an air-dryed cupcake. _"You're... You're that $#%* who carried off my sister. You abandoned your own son, you % ^#!" _ran through Shadow's head. He winced for a _"You don't deserve him!"_

"His name's Shadow," Silver carried on, naive to the hate swarming in her eyes. But she didn't want to curse in front of her nephew, and put on a closed smile.

"Shadow. That suits a dark hog well!" she teased. "It's a pleasure! Come on in!" _Why give you small doses when we could just give you the full shot?_

When the hedgehogs entered, the silver hog was attacked. "Silver!" the trap squealed. "You're here!" Silver scooped up a tiny pale golden hedgehog and held her high in the air with his arms. A toddler with purple-indigo eyes giggled at him.

"Hi Dawn!" the hog greeted, hugging the tot. "I missed you! You're getting bigger everyday, aren't ya?"

"Yes!" she squeaked, head over his shoulder. Her eyes saw the dark hog behind, and her teehees stopped. Her familiar eyes became round, and she shrunk behind Silver's big quills. "Who's he?" Dawn mewled. "He looks scary."

_You're not the first. _"That's my daddy. You can call him Uncle Shadow." The girl smiled at "daddy."

"Hee-hee! Uncle Shadow!" she cheeped, squirming. When she was set down, the golden blur bounded into a room about five steps to the doorway. Aurora led the two to the room.

A golden-orange hedgehog had set Dawn on his lap. He sat on one of the beige couch twins facing each other. A glass coffee table was set inbetween them, while closer to the doorway was an entertainment kitchen, lifted about half a foot off the rest of the room. The counter was invaded by party snacks.

"Look who's here, Helios," the orange-yellow hedgehog motioned to the hogs. Silver greeted the hog, assuming it was him. The hand was waved over Silver's ears. _Look who's here, the %$#& who took our sister away from us and abandoned our precious nephew._

When the golden hog saw Shadow, his sky blue eyes froze over. But, to the black one's surprise, his warmed back up. "So, are you 'Uncle Shadow', Silver's dad?" he asked, moving his baby to the couch. He strolled over and reached out. "Pleased to meet you."

_ Weird...I thought Selene was closer to her big brother... _Helios' hand shook Shadow's twice, one, two, one, two, without any abrupt movements. The dark one got a "Nice to meet you too," out before the shakes ended.

"Dawn, why don't you show Silver the garden out back? He hasn't seen it before," Aurora asked, dismissing the two from what was about to happen.

As soon as the door slid shut and the toddler tugged on her big cousin's arm, the corkscrew curls whipped at Shadow's face. "You!" she growled. "You horrible, selfish-"

"Aurora," Helios chided in a breath. "Don't jump to that." His sister fumed as he went on. "That's no way to talk to our brother-in-law."

Shadow let out a gasp under his breath, and the lady screeched. _"Brother-in-law? No way! _He wouldn't have married Selene even if _she begged!"_

"Aurora!" he snapped. "You don't know!" After a sigh, the golden hog turned to the black one. "So sorry about her. We have no idea what happened to Selene before she died."

"I'm sorry. I should've looked where I was going," Shadow mumbled. "It's my fault she died."

_"See?"_

"Shut it, Aurora. Well, let's just start with Silver," he prompted, pushing his sister towards the sofa, plucking a brownie from the pile of desserts on the way. Once they were seated on the couch- Shadow sitting in Helios's warm spot and the siblings on the other, the hog began.

* * *

><p>"Silver! I didn't know your daddy had red stripes on his head!" Dawn shrilled as she waddled in a circle in front. "Or that he had red eyes!"<p>

_Well, I don't think everyone else knew that either, _Silver thought as he trailed after the little hejji. "So, how come we never seen your daddy before?" she mewled, gazing up at her cousin like she did with her daddy.

Scooping her up, Silver sighed. "Well..." he started, on lookout for a seat in the winter garden, "you know how I'm a time-traveller?" The pale golden girl nodded, humming. "I went back far enough that no one would draw any...er..." Dawn's little smile mewed _What does that mean? _"Umm...That no one would think I was their kid. But my dad...

"Can I tell you when you're older?" he grumbled. "There's too many complicated ideas in the story. When you're older, you'll learn them, okay?" The tot pouted at first, but then she squirmed and laughed. Her cousin put her down so she could dart off.

* * *

><p>Aurora's hatred had not lessened, just dulled. Whatever hate her brother had was eroded away when Shadow and he talked about Silver. "Yeah, that little punk needed to get involved," the golden-orange hedgehog remarked. "He never got anything broken, but he's gonna get creamed one day."<p>

"Hope not," Shadow returned, chuckling. "How many fights has he gotten into?"

"More than enough. He needs to be home-schooled or something..."

A bell rang in the hallway. "Oh," Aurora spoke, standing up, voice bitter candy. "I'll get that." The dark one's fur stood on end when she walked out.

"So, I'm gonna get another brownie," Helios informed, standing up to go hunt his prey. "You?"

When Shadow made it over there, the other one started, "Look, I don't care whether or not Silver's legit, I just wanna be sure you didn't rape my sister."

_What? _"I-I'd never!" he blurted, chest swelling. "She curled her tail! And I _asked!" _The golden one picked up a brownie and chuckled.

"Thought so. Usually guys around that age don't want to have anything to do with their kids. And Silver really wants to know you."

Shadow's chest was tapped by a small metal object. "How do you know?"

"He looked at you before Dawn pulled him away," he informed "Like he was worried." _Worried... They wouldn't accept me?_

"Helios," Aurora called as she entered, ninety-five percent cacoa voice. "It's Mom and Dad."


	3. The Word

_Oh no... Mom and_ Dad. Shadow clung to his oval-shaped Umbra charm. _Please help me, Selene._  
>"Grandpa!" Dawn squeaked from the sliding door to the yellow once golden hedgehog. "Hi Grandpa! Silver's here, too!"<br>Silver? He hadn't run to his grandparents. He looked like a kid figiting uncomfortably in the principal's office. "Hi, Grandma and Grandpa," he mumbled, ducking his head. _Looks like I'm not the only one who's got bad feelings about this._  
>Selene's parents didn't look like Selene's parents. Warm-colored fur, bright blue eyes. The only one who looks anything like her is her grandma, Minerva.<br>"Think of the devil, and she shall appear," scared the interior emotional Shadow, while his outer shell flinched. To his right was Minerva Phoenicia, an elderly psychic who was the only Phoenicia who knew about Shadow from the very beginning. She was, exactly, the closest one who looked anything like Selene. Gray fur, pale white skin and dark eyes-so dark you couldn't tell what color they were. She leaned in over her wooden cane, wearing a simple dress and multiple charms, as if she were a witch.  
>"Hello, Mrs. Phoenicia. Would you like to sit down?" She hummed laughter as she sat by him, mumbling, "Such a gentleman. Is it 'Beauty before Age' in your case?"<br>As they laughed, Silver scurried over to sit at their feet. Minerva stroked his hair, then rubbed his left ear. "He looks so much like his great-grandfather, Edward, with his big ears," she whispered. "Although, you've got big ears, so I suppose it came from you."  
>"Big ears, huh?"<br>"Yeah, and he was considered short. Irritated him to his deathbed. But I suppose he's spending time with our granddaughter up there."  
>Dawn had clammored up on her great-grannie's lap for a hug. "Uncle Shadow! Do you know Grannie? She's got a shop in the mall and sells a bunch of things!"<br>"That's right," Shadow said, patting his niece's soft head. "She sold me this necklace. That's when I met Grannie."  
>"And the knucklehead was so love-struck he took off without it," Grannie added, snickering.<br>"Silly Uncle Shadow!" Dawn squeaked. "Leaving things behind is bad. Mommy says that all the time."  
>In his periferal, Aurora's ice stare stabbed Shadow as she hugged her parents. <em>That's my<em> nephew. _My_ sister's child, _and you don't deserve either of them you #%*&%^._  
>"Hi Grannie," Helios said. "So you knew?"<br>"Of course I knew. I was practically the one who tied them together from the very beginning." Minerva rested her hand on Helios'. "Selene was safe and cared for, until the very end, sunshine. And she was in love."  
><em>With a monster like me,<em> Shadow thought.  
>"Mom, Dad, there's someone we'd like you to meet," Aurora's bitter candy voice said. "This is Shadow."<br>The yellow hedgehog's steel blue eyes reflected his grandson's image as he stared into Shadow's._ He knows._  
>"Hello, Mr. Shadow," the orange one greeted, unaware, or at least not showing it, not letting her anger and sorrow swarm into her eyes. "I'm Theia Phoenicia, and this is my husband, Hyperion."<br>"Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Phoenicia. My full name is Shadow the Hedgehog. You've already met my son, Silver, correct?"  
>Her eyes looked like melting ice. "Yes, Silver's my grandson. So you're that boyfriend she wanted us to meet so badly."<br>"Yeah...She almost overdosed she was so heartbroken," he added. Her eyes widened.  
><em>"What?"<em> was the faintest whisp out of her mouth. Her eyes searched his for the truth, and it was as if she could see from his eyes finding her whimpering in the bathroom, the pills rattling in the bottle from her shaking grip.  
>The ice became water. "So...you saved her..." Suddenly she was around his neck, buring her tears into his shoulder. "You saved her! Oh, thank you... Thank you..."<br>"What are you talking about, Mom?" Aurora hissed. "He took her away from us! He _admitted_ it was his fault she died!"  
>"You can't just let it go, can you, Aurora?" Helios retorted. "Do you think that taking it out on Shadow will make sissy see- if she can, because she's gone now, that you love her?"<br>"I've been through a lot of relationships, and this I can say: there's not enough perfect men out there. Most of them will take advantage of a pushover, like Selene!"  
>"He's trying to be nice!"<br>"Because he's _trying to get away with it!"_  
><em>"SHUT UP!"<em>  
>Even Shadow hadn't noticed how the anxious hog turned into a trembling one, with tears cascading down his cheeks. His fist was clenched and eyebrows in a harsh V.<br>"I don't get it! My whole life, it's been_ "Selene Selene Selene SELENE!" WHAT ABOUT "SILVER," HUH?! IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO THINK ABOUT ME?! WHAT ABOUT ME?! YOU GUYS ARE JUST TOO UPSET ABOUT HOW YOU TREATED MY MOTHER IN THE PAST THAT YOU'RE TOO BLIND TO HER SON, AREN'T YOU?!_  
>"I brought my dad to show you how he cared about me," he whimpered, which stunned Shadow. "You see, before I was born, he remembered a time-traveler. And-and he tried really hard to keep us both safe, even if that meant never seeing Mom and I again. He was looking at me, and not the road...and Mom forgot to put on her seatbelt. Maybe if she had, you guys would be less concerned about Mom...<br>_"He HAD to abandon me! He didn't WANT TO! WHAT KIND OF SICK HEDGEHOG DO YOU THINK MY FATHER IS?! HE'S BEEN THE BEST DAD HE COULD BE!_ Granted, I never thought he was before, but he looked after me as much as possible. Must've been hard to love a stubborn hog who keeps saying how much he hated you...  
>"But he's good enough for me. And no matter what you believe him to be, however horrible he is in your opinion, <em>HE'S MY DAD."<em>  
>Then the waterfall stopped and he tightened his fist. "And <em>I love him.<em> You'll never change that."  
>He loves me. He said it. He finally said it.<p>

It'd been a long day for the hogs. Silver chewed his American Cheeseburger like he had been to his best friend's funeral.  
>"What's the matter?" Shadow asked. "Regret what you said?"<br>"I don't think so..." he muttered through the food in his mouth. "I meant it... Years of bottled-up emotion, and it chose to come out today."  
>"Sorry. That's my old bad habit. I learned there's things you've got to let go."<br>"Like the dead?" After another annoyed glare at his full cheeks, the silver hog swallowed. "Like Mom?"  
>"Well,"- he held the dark pendant in his palm, "I've always got her, right next to my heart, here."<br>"What now, Dad?"  
>Dad. <em>It's got a nice ring.<em> "I think we should go home, kiddo, and tick off Mephisto with the smell of burgers on us."  
>"What about dessert? Can we buy some shakes?"<br>"Haha. That sounds good. Then we can start fresh tomorrow."  
>"Why not right now? Hi Dad, how's work?"<br>"Another rejected novel, but another set of sold art. We'll eat for a week, maybe two."  
>"What's wrong with your books?"<br>"You tell me: I look them over every day..."


End file.
